Deep submergence tunneling device

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for tunneling through sediment around a submerged object having a ferruginous surface is provided utilizing a crawler driven and directed jetting unit. The apparatus includes a flexible toothed belt carried on at least two bogie wheels mounting a plurality of permanent or selectively energized magnets in a side-by-side relationship. The magnets are successively brought to bear against a steel or similar ferruginous surface, as the bogie wheels are rotated in accordance with an applied electrical signal delivered to a motor mounted on the crawler apparatus. A supporting framework is formed of an essentially rectangularly-shaped hollow tubing, having at one end, a source of pressurized water, and, at the opposite end, a nozzle aimed in the direction of crawler travel. Upon a diver&#39;&#39;s placing the crawler on a steel surface, or, in the case of extreme deep submergence operation, positioning the crawler by a manipulator arm extending from a deep submersible, the tunneling operation around a submerged object progresses by simply turning on the source of pressurized water and driving the motor in the direction of desired travel. The plurality of adjacent magnets in magnetic engagement with the hull holds the crawler assembly from recoiling as high pressure water is jetted through the nozzle. As sediment is displaced in the path of the jetted water, forward motion by the crawler pulls a light pilot line which can later draw through heavy cables for hoisting operations. Heavy duty hoist lines are located to form a hoisting sling around the sunken vessel, where heretofore, such an operation has been impossible at great depths. Employing magnetic blocks carried on a flexible belt secures the crawler onto a steel surface, irrespective of its rounded contour, to permit tunneling and to overcome the recoil effect of the jetted water.

United States Patent Edgar N. Rosenberg 6914 Mission Gorge Road, San Diego, Calif. 92127 [72] inventor 21 Appl. No. 828,496

[22] Filed [45] Patented May 28, 1969 Jan. 12,197]

[54] DEEP SUBMERGENCE TUNNELING DEVICE 10 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

Primary Examiner-James A. Leppink Attorneys.lustin P. Dunlavey, Ervin E. Johnston and Thomas G. Keough ABSTRACT: An apparatus for tunneling through sediment around a submerged object having a-ferruginous surface is provided utilizing a crawler driven and directed jetting unit. The apparatus includes a flexible toothed belt carried on at least two bogie wheels mounting a plurality of permanent or selectively energized magnets in a side-by-side relationship. The magnets are successively brought to bear against a steel or similar ferruginous surface, as the bogie wheels are rotated in accordance with an applied electrical signal delivered to a motor mounted on the crawler apparatus. A supporting framework is formed of an essentially rectangularly-shaped hollow tubing, having at one end, a source of pressurized water, and, at the opposite end, a noule aimed in the direction of crawler travel. Upon a divers placing the crawler on a steel surface, or, in the case of extreme deep submergence operation, positioning the crawler by a manipulator arm extending from a deep submersible, the tunneling operation around a submerged object progresses by simply turning on the source of pressurized water and driving the motor in the direction of desired travel. The plurality of adjacent magnets in magnetic} engagement with the hull holds the crawler assembly from recoiling as'high pressure wateris jetted through the noule. As sediment is displaced in the path of the jetted water, forward motion by the crawler pulls a light pilot line which can later draw through heavy cables. for hoisting operations. Heavy duty hoist lines are located to form a hoisting sling 7 around the sunken vessel, where heretofore, such an operation has been impossible at great depths. Employing magnetic blocks carried on a flexible belt secures the crawler onto a steel surface, irrespective of its rounded contour, to permit tunneling and to overcome the recoil effect of the jetted 1 water.

PATENTEU mu 2 IQTI sum 1 ur 2 INVENTOR. EDGAR N. ROSENBERG Thomas 6. Kebugh E rw'n F Johnston 4 rramvs rs 1 DEEP SUBMERGENCE TUNNELING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Raising submerged objects, particular sunken ships, is extremely difficultdue to the fact that it is relatively impossible toattach heavy duty hoisting linesto thesunken vessel. Efforts to.raise vessels sunken in depths obtainable by a diver meet only with limited success since the great weights involved render useless a conventionally utilized technique of embedding AC anchor points in the hull by explosive means since these anchor points tend to pull out when subjected to high tensile forces. If a great number of these anchor points are embedded in a sunken vessel, and a plurality of hose lines extends to the surface to a like number of vertical lift winches, synchronization of the winches to equalize the lifting forces creates an insurmountable complication. Among deep submergence salvage experts, it is recognized that a heavy duty hoisting sling arrangement provides the best means for raising heavy loads from the ocean floor since heavy duty lines allow the use of floats and minimize the number of winches employed. Since a great percentage of the ocean's floor is covered with an accumulation of sand, ground coral, and similar sediment, it has been discovered that jetting a high velocity stream of water into a mass of such particles easily displaces them to form holes for anchors and stanchions or tunnels for guiding a hoist sling.

Some ship salvage operations thusly use the jetting process to attach hoist slings around a sunken vessel. Divers direct the passage of curved pipes ductinga jetting stream of water around hulls having the same curvature as the pipes used. Proper orientation of the pipes and providing a counteracting forward thrust, sufficient to overcome the recoil of the jetted water, require the divers constant attention and effort. Obviously, securing hoist lines to a vessel submerged in depths greater than thosetolerable by a diver, has been impossible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to providing an apparatus for tunneling throughv sediment along a ferruginous surface. An essentially rectangularly-shapedframe member formed of hollow tubing is connected at one end to a source of pressurized water, and, at the oppositeend, a nozzle directs the water to jet away sediment in the nozzle's path. A bulldozerlike flexible belt mounting magnetized elements is carried on at least two go bogie wheels selectively driven by an electric motor. Rotation of' the go bogie wheels in the direction of travel places successive ones of the magnetized elements in contact with a ferruginous surface,.usually steel in the case of sunken ships, to permit traverse of the apparatus as sediment is jetted from its path by the pressurized water. Since at all times a plurality of magnetized elements is in contact with the steel surface, forward motion progresses and resistance to the recoil of the jetted water is ensured. By towing a pilot line beneath'the rounded contour of a sunken ship, the invention enables the attachment of heavy duty hoist lines and the ultimate raising of the sunken ship at great depths. 7

It is the prime object of the instant invention to provide an apparatus for tunneling through sediment beneath a sunken ship.

Another object is to provide an object having a powered,

flexible belt carrying magnetic elements for following the contours of a ships hull when tunneling therebeneath.

Yet another object is to provide a device for placing a pilot line beneath a sunken ship's hull. A further object is to provide a crawler device for positioning and advancing a water jetting nozzle.

An ultimate object of the invention is to provide a device essential for deep submergence rescue and salvage operations.

These and other objects of the instant invention willbecome apparent from the ensuing description when taken along with.

the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows a top view of one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view generally taken along the lines 2-2 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a frontal representation of a magnetic element employed with the embodiment of FIGS. l and 2.

FIG. 4 is a top view of a second embodiment of the invention taken partially in section.

FIG. 5 is a partial side view of the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a frontal view of a magnetic element employed in the embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The instant invention employs the well-known jetting process in a manner that obviates the depth barrier existing when divers are employed. A source of pressurized water, either located on a surface support vessel, or from a proximately located pumping system, is connected to the invention through a conventional, high pressure hose 10. A hose coupling 10a secures the hose to an essentially, rectangularlyshaped tubular frame member 15 having a pair of passageways 15a and 15b terminating in a common orifice area 150 sized to accommodate one of several different sized force-fitted nozzles l6. Thusly configured, the nozzle is the basic element of a conventional jetting process and is interchangeable. When sediment and deposits of different densities require difTerent water pressures and velocities, a different nozzle is used.

Dependent from portions of the frame member defining the pairs of passageways, pairs of journal boxes, 17a and 17b, and, 18a and 18b, rotationally support a journaled drive shaft 19 and a ride shaft 20, respectively; Both of the shafts are preferably journaled in water bearings fluidly communicating with ambient pressure in a freely rotatable manner to eliminate problems arising when changing surrounding pressures are encountered.

Two sprocketed rid-bogie wheels 25 and 26 are secured onto the ride shaft and are each provided with a plurality of ride teeth 27. Similarly, on the drive shaft, a pair of sprocketed drive-bogie wheels 30 and 31 are secured and each are formed with a plurality of radially extending drive teeth 32.

A sealed or flooded motor enclosing housing 35 is fastened onto the frame member via a motor bracket 35a and terminates in a worm gear transmission 36 having a worm gear 36a and a mechanically cooperating follower, gear 36b. Angular displacement is a clockwise or counterclockwise direction of the drive shaft and its connected drive-bogie wheels is effected by signals transmitted from a remote controlled source of electric power 37 via an electric power line 35b extending to the motor housing.

Two flexible belts 40a and 40b are shaped with teeth 4l and recesses sized for mechanical cooperation withride teeth-2T an drive teeth 28. Clockwise and counterclockwise rotation of the drive shaft 19 results in a bidirectional motion by the flexi:

ble belts and a corresponding clockwise or counterclockwise;

rotation of the ride shaft and its associated bogie wheels.

In the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2, a U.-shaped' recesses, or valleys, between adjacent belt teeth 41.

Thusly configured, the invention is able to burrow through the sediment covering a steel, iron, or similar ferruginous surface irrespective of possible rounded contours. When a pad eye 11 is included, a light pilot line 12 of nylon, or a lightweight wire rope, is towed behind the crawler to permit the drawing through of a heavy duty wire rope of up to 2 or 3 inches in diameter to form a hoisting sling for raising a sunken vessel. During the tunneling operation, excess sediment washed back by the j tting process is partially shielded from the aforedescribed apparatus by a dorsel shield 13 supported by brackets 13a and 131). Several downwardly directed apparatuses 15d on both passageways 15a and 15b aim high velocity streams of water over the belts and bogies to prevent a sediment buildup. Stresses developed during the jetting processes, due to the recoil of the jetted water and the traversing action of the crawler, as will be described below, are contained by a longitudinally extending flat brace 14.

Operation of the instant tunneling device depends only on its being placed in magnetic engagement on the side of a sunken ship, and its being aimed in the desired direction. The U- shaped magnetic elements 45a, 45b, 45c, 45d, and 45e are shown abutting a steel plate 50 representative of a ships hull. Upon activating the motor enclosed in housing 35, the worm gear transfers rotational power to the drive shaft which, in turn, turns sprocketed drive-bogie wheels 30 and 31. Water jetting through force-fitted nozzle 16, via the frame member, rapidly and efficiently clears a tunnel or passage for the forward moving crawler.

ln FIG. 2, U-shaped magnetic element 45g has just been pulled free of the steel plate and U-shaped magnetic element 45f is just about to be placed in magnetic engagement with the plate as the crawler travels forward. The combined magnetic pulling force of all of the elements abutting the hull of the ship is sufficient to counteract the recoil force caused by the jetted water and is sufficient to stabilize the entire crawler assembly when rearward ones of the U-shaped elements are lifted from the surface of the hull, and single front elements are placed in magnetic adhesion with the hull.

Another embodiment of the invention employs a slightly, differently shaped magnetic element, as shown in FIG. 6. In this embodiment, the element includes a pair of high permeability blocks 61 and 62 secured together by a dielectric, rigid spacer element 63 via a dielectric spacer bolt 63a. Flexible belts 40a and 40b are bonded or crossbolted onto the spacer element, as shown, and ride on the drive and ride bogie wheels in much the same manner as did the elements of the first embodiment, with the exception that the high permeability blocks travel in planes outside of the planes of the bogie wheels.

A plurality of solenoids 64 are joined together and supported from the frame member by a solenoid common bracket 65. A pair of parallel leads 66, extending to a remote, controlled source of electric power 37, connects the solenoids in parallel and maintains them in an energized condition with lines of magnetic flux eminating from opposite ends 640 and 64b in a conventional manner.

As the crawler moves forward, and pairs of the high permeability blocks are brought into longitudinal alignment with the ends, 640 and 64b, of respective ones of solenoids 64, lines of magnetic flux pass through each of the blocks to create pole faces at surfaces 61a and 62a, see FIG. 6. The magnetic coupling of high permeability block 61, solenoid 64, and high permeability block 62 forms a U-shaped magnet capable of exerting a magnetic force a magnetic force in excess of the force exerted by the permanent U-shaped magnet set forth in the first embodiment. As the crawler assembly follows the tunnel created by the jetting actions blasting away of sediment, different pairs of high permeability blocks become longitudinally aligned, in varying degrees, with separate ones of the solenoids 64.

, in FIG. 5, blocks 62a, 62b, 62c, and 62d are in different stages of alignment with the solenoids and, hence, each magnetically formed- U-shaped element exerts a magnetic force of varying power. The space of separation between the adjacent solenoids does not correspond to the space of separation between adjacent ones of the high permeability blocks. if that condition exists existed, there would be intermittent periods of on" and off' magnetic force exerted by the entire chain of magnetically formed U-shaped elements dip disposed adjacent the surface of the hull, Thus, by not having the solenoids and blocks equally spaced, a maximum total magnetic force exerted by all of the blocks adjacent the hull is precluded, but the possibility of all of the blocks exerting substantially no magnetic force is eliminated to prevent the crawlers being blown away by the recoil resulting from jetting process and to prevent the crawlers wandering from a designated path.

In the second embodiment, the solenoids are all turned off at the same time by remote switching to enable the removal of the crawler assembly after a tunneling operation has been completed. If remote on-off switching is not included, the solenoids are left in an excited condition throughout their employment; however, in such a case, a deep submersible vehicle having an attached manipulator arm, is used to remove the crawler assembly from the ship's hull; the crawler assembly depicted in the first embodiment having permanent magnets, must always be removed in this manner.

As a design expedient, to facilitate more efficient operation, all parts, save the magnetic elements, are constructed of nonmagnetic materials to prevent interaction with the magnetic field produced by the magnetic elements.

Passage through the sediment is expedited by coating externally facing parts, including the dorsel shield hose, and electric power lines, with a substance having the friction-free" properties of the coating known under the trademark, TEFLON.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings, and, it is therefore understood that within the scope of the disclosed inventive concept, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

lclaim:

1. An apparatus for tunneling through sediment along a ferruginous surface comprising:

a frame member formed with at least one passageway having an inlet orifice and an outlet orifice;

a rotative means mounted on said frame member;

a plurality of magnetized elements carried on said rotative means in a juxtaposed relationship to form a closed loop;

prime mover means mounted on said frame member operatively engaging said rotative means to position successive ones of said magnetized elements adjacent said ferruginous surface for securing said apparatus thereto and for effecting a traverse displacement thereacross; and

a source of pressurized water communicating with said inlet orifice for passing said water through said outlet orifice to jet away said sediment as said apparatus effects said traverse displacement.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 in which all elements are essentially nonmagnetic except said magnetic elements.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2 in which said rotative means is at least two longitudinally aligned sprocketed bogie wheels each mounted on opposite ends of said frame member and said apparatus further includes: at least one flexible belt having adjacent recesses spaced for mechanically coacting with said sprocketed bogie wheels to function as an endless belt, said magnetized elements being secured onto said belt.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3 in which said frame member is essentially a rectangularly-shaped tubular structure and said apparatus further includes:

a pair of laterally extending shafts secured at opposite ends to longitudinal sides of said rectangularly-shaped tubular structure;

a set of two said sprocketed bogie wheels mounted on each laterally extending shaft being longitudinally aligned in pairs;

a pair of flexible belts each extending between for mechanical coaction with each longitudinally aligned pair of said sprocketed bogie wheels;

a drive gear secured onto one said shaft; and

said prime mover means is an electric motor mounting a worm gear sized and positioned to engage said drive gear I to effect said traverse displacement. 5. An apparatus according to claim 4 in which said magnetic elements are U-shape' members laterally orientated and inwardly extending toward said frame member.

9. An apparatus according to claim 8 further including: a source of electric power; and at least one solenoid electrically connected to said electric power and mounted on a bracket joined to said frame member for positioning said solenoid in longitudinal alignment with the inwardly extending second portions. upon actuating the electric power source, creating lines of magnetic flux passing through the solenoid core. through the longitudinally aligned second portions and through said ferruginous surface to secure said apparatus thereto. 10. An apparatus according to claim 9 further including a nozzle communicating with said outlet orifice shaped for directing and controlling the flow of said water. 

1. An apparatus for tunneling through sediment along a ferruginous surface comprising: a frame member formed with at least one passageway having an inlet orifice and an outlet orifice; a rotative means mounted on said frame member; a plurality of magnetized elements carried on said rotative means in a juxtaposed relationship to form a closed loop; prime mover means mounted on said frame member operatively engaging said rotative means to position successive ones of said magnetized elements adjacent said ferruginous surface for securing said apparatus thereto and for effecting a traverse displacement thereacross; and a source of pressurized water communicating with said inlet orifice for passing said water through said outlet orifice to jet away said sediment as said apparatus effects said traverse displacement.
 2. An apparatus according to claim 1 in which all elements are essentially nonmagnetic except said magnetic elements.
 3. An apparatus according to claim 2 in which said rotative means is at least two longitudinally aligned sprocketed bogie wheels each mounted on opposite ends of said frame member and said apparatus further includes: at least one flexible belt having adjacent recesses spaced for mechanically coacting with said sprocketed bogie wheels to function as an endless belt, said magnetized elements being secured onto said belt.
 4. An apparatus according to claim 3 in which said frame member is essentially a rectangularly-shaped tubular structure and said apparatus further includes: a pair of laterally extending shafts secured at opposite ends to longitudinal sides of said rectangularly-shaped tubular structure; a set of two said sprocketed bogie wheels mounted on each laterally extending shaft being longitudinally aligned in pairs; a pair of flexible belts each extending between for mechanical coaction with each longitudinally aligned pair of said sprocketed bogie wheels; a drive gear secured onto one said shaft; and said prime mover means is an electric motor mounting a worm gear sized and positioned to engage said drive gear to effect said traverse displacement.
 5. An apparatus according to claim 4 in which said magnetic elements are U-shaped members laterally orientated and secured to said flexible belts having their magnetic poles disposed to rotatively abut said ferruginous surface.
 6. An apparatus according to claim 5 in which said U-shaped members are permanent magnets.
 7. An apparatus according to claim 6 further including: a nozzle communicating with said outlet orifice shaped for directing and controlling the flow of said water.
 8. An apparatus according to claim 5 in which said U-shaped members include a dielectric spacer separating a pair of high permeability blocks having first portions disposed to rotatively abut said ferruginous surface and second portions inwardly extending toward said frame member.
 9. An apparatus according to claim 8 further including: a source of electric power; and at least one solenoid electrically connected to said electric power and mounted on a bracket joined to said frame member for positioning said solenoid in longitudinal alignment with the inwardly extending second portions, upon actuating tHe electric power source, creating lines of magnetic flux passing through the solenoid core, through the longitudinally aligned second portions and through said ferruginous surface to secure said apparatus thereto.
 10. An apparatus according to claim 9 further including a nozzle communicating with said outlet orifice shaped for directing and controlling the flow of said water. 